USDA Warns of Potential Listeria-Contaminated Spinach in HelloFresh Meals

The frozen spinach was supplied by Sno Pac Foods, which has issued a recall of the ingredient.

Hello Fresh Ready Made Meals Unstuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey, where Federal health officials late Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, warned people not to eat certain subscription meal kits containing spinach that may be contaminated with listeria and identified with Est. P-47718 and lot codes 50069, 50073 or 50698. U.S. Agriculture Department via AP

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) warned on Oct. 7 about possible listeria contamination in HelloFresh ready-to-eat meals that contain frozen spinach.

Listeria is a type of bacteria that causes a serious infection transmitted through contaminated food. It affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women, according to the FSIS.

The affected products include 10.1-ounce containers of HelloFresh Ready Made Meals Cheesy Pulled Pork Pepper Pasta and 10-ounce containers of HelloFresh Ready Made Meals Unstuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey, according to the USDA’s public health notice.

Both products were shipped directly to HelloFresh consumers, according to the alert. FSIS said that it expects more affected products to be identified as the investigation continues.

“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the agency stated.

The agency added that, based on current evidence, “the products included in this public health alert are not related to any ongoing outbreak investigations.”

FSIS said the issue was discovered after FreshRealm, the producer of the affected meals, notified the agency that the frozen spinach used in the products tested positive for Listeria.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness linked to the products, according to the agency. The frozen spinach was supplied by Sno Pac Foods, which has since issued a recall of the ingredient.

In a statement, HelloFresh said the recalled ingredient was only used in ready-made meals produced by its third-party manufacturer FreshRealm and emphasized that its meal kits are not affected.

“HelloFresh meal kits are entirely separate; they are packed and shipped from a HelloFresh facility and are not impacted by this issue, nor are any other brands within the HelloFresh portfolio,” the company said.

HelloFresh said it had directly contacted consumers who bought the affected meals and instructed them to get rid of the products.

“To date, we have received no reports of customer injuries relating to this product. We take this matter very seriously,” the company added.

Symptoms of listeria poisoning include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. FSIS stated that an invasive listeria infection can spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract.

Sno Pac Foods announced on Oct. 6 the recall of its Del Mar 35 LB Bulk Organic Frozen Spinach and 10-ounce Organic Frozen Cut Spinach, which were distributed nationwide through retail stores and distributors.

The company said that “a bulk case of spinach” from its supplier tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes and “was of the same lot code” used to repack its Organic Frozen Cut Spinach into 10-ounce packages, according to a statement published by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Epoch Times has reached out to FreshRealm for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.